Tales of a Steampunk Pirate Queen

Monday, December 10, 2012

I like shoes. I do. I especially like the idea of shoes. I really hardly ever wear different ones. I love heels. I do not love to wear heels. I like sneakers. I'm very picky about sneakers, and boots. I love love love boots, but finding a great pair of boots that are also flats is really hard.

<-- I was lucky enough to find this pair earlier this year around Halloween. I love these boots. They are fabulous. I almost want to buy a second pair of these for when I inevitably wear out the first pair. I originally bought them to go with my Halloween costume, but I wear them all the time. I like them a lot more than my sneakers. They're pretty comfortable, and they have pretty decent traction in the snow too.

I really love the idea of these boots. They are the Melissa Tall Lace Boots by Frye. They're also about $400. I originally saw them on Once Upon a Time, which is one of my favorite shows, on one of my favorite characters Emma Swan. I love Emma Swan's style on the show and these boots are a great example. I would love to find some similar boots for a more reasonable price. I do not have $400 to spend on a random pair of boots.

I'm really in love with the riding boots this season. I've only seen these two pairs online, so I'm not sure how much I'd love them in person, but they look really great. Maurice's is a surprisingly great place for footwear.

This is the Alexa Riding Boot with Side Buckle, and I really like the brown. It reminds me of this pair of boots that I bought earlier in the year. They're super cute and I love the Cognac color, but I am very reluctant to wear heels, especially in the winter, so I'd love to have a similar flat. These ones are also pretty great:

That is the Tosca Zip Back Riding Boot and they look pretty great in the brown as well. I'd really love a pair of riding boots that laces up the front like those Frye boots, but I haven't been able to find any I like that are an affordable price.

Charlotte Russe has these lovelies hiding on their website, but not in their stores. These are amazing Cognac Knee-High Lace Boots and they also have them online in black as well. Not a bad price either. $45.50 I really like the Charlotte Russe website, but I wish I could easily link pictures of their products on my blog.

That's all we have time for today. If anyone wants to buy me a pair of any of these fabulous boots, I'm usually an 8 or an 8.5.

Friday, November 30, 2012

I watch Project Runway, adore Tim Gunn, and know what I like in terms of clothing, but my regular day to day look is generally jeans and a tank top. I've never really been the kind of girl who puts a lot of time into her appearance. I figure if you don't like me in my natural state, then you're not going to change your opinion just because of some makeup and a fancy hairdo, but lately I have been thinking that while I want an effortless style, effortless doesn't have to mean sloppy. My inner girl is convinced that if I just buy enough high heels and skirts that eventually I will start wearing them. She is horribly horribly wrong, but there is no reason I can't class up my jeans with a minimum of effort. I think a good place to start is with layering. That way I can still wear my beloved tank tops, but look a bit classier. Also, tanktops are nearly useless in winter. I've pretty much worn the same sweater over every tank top I own every time I leave the house. I think a good start to dressing up my everyday look is a nice jacket. A great jacket can make your look, plus they are usually versatile in that you can wear them nearly year round. I have a heavier coat that I can wear when it's cold/snowing, but it's not flattering at all. A dressier coat would also be a great addition to my wardrobe. I can look fabulous and dressed up in a skirt, but once I put on my coat, I get lost in it. The problem here is that clothes, nice clothes, are very expensive. These are a few of my favorite jackets from one of my favorite shows, Once Upon a Time. I wish I could afford jackets like these ones. They're custom jackets, so I don't even want to think about how much they would cost.

They're all from Oceandrive Leather. I also really like this one.

I'll never own one of these, but a girl can dream. The closest I've seen to any of these that I've actually liked and was willing to pay for is at Hot Topic: Royal Bones Slim Moto Jacket

Charlotte Russe had some cute ones, but I didn't find any I really liked. I'm open to suggestions if anyone has found any nice motorcycle jackets anywhere for a decent price.

I found a few more coats in a style I like at Maurice's. I end up buying quite a lot of clothes at the Maurice's. They're not super spendy, but their stuff is usually fairly good quality and I like the styles available.

I really liked this one from Maurices. It's more feminine than a lot of the trenchcoats or peacoats this season so it would give me that girly edge without a lot of effort.

And this one was also one of the coats I liked. At the store they had this one in a deep blue color that was really pretty, but I can't find it on the website in any color other than black.

I was hoping to find a coat in a houndstooth pattern, but they didn't seem to have any available when I was looking. These are just the things I was able to find when half-asleep on Black Friday.

Simple classic style is what I'm looking for, I want to have something that is a little bit feminine, but a little bit edgy and above all easy and simple. And if anyone wants to take pity on me and buy me one of these awesome jackets or coats I'm probably a medium.

Friday, May 18, 2012

I never know what to write about. See Faith sit. See Faith write. See Faith have absolutely no idea what to write about, get frustrated and give up and watch TV instead. As pathetic as it sounds, this is usually how my writing sessions go. It’s my goal to do Camp NaNoWriMo in both June and August of this year, and not only start something but finish it. Unfortunately I’m afraid i’m going to get caught in those same behavior cycles.

I have an idea that seems to sap all of my creative energy. I’ve been working on it for years, and it’s still less than half finished. This single idea haunts my creative side like a series of poltergeists trying to turn every creative moment into something about that idea.

I’m determined that for the course of at least the first Camp NaNo this year that I am not going to incorporate ANY of the idea haunting my subconcious. Unfortunately because that idea is like a psychic vampire sucking all of my creativity into it, I’m having a very hard time coming up with something new to write about.

I’m drawn to the idea of a modernization of a classic myth or fairy tale alaOnce Upon a Time but I’m hesitant because I don’t want to just copy what they did. I’m afraid my fear of being too similar to what’s out there is going to cripple my ability to write anything at all.

I guess most of what this is about is fear. I’m afraid to try something new. I’m afraid to write something that is too similar to something that is already out there. I’m afraid to make the time to do this. I’m afraid I’m going to end up neglecting things that I need to do because I’m trying to do something for me. It’s something that I’ve always wanted to do, and I’m afraid to do it.

I guess what it really comes down to is, I’m afraid to commit to an idea because then I’ll be committing to making time to write it, and I’m afraid to commit to that because I don’t want to let anyone down. Even though I’m letting myself down by not honestly trying to write and finish a story. /sigh

I am a giant neurotic mess, and thus this blog post, which is only coming about because I’m sick and someone else is taking care of the baby and Dy is a very difficult person to take care of when he’s sick and since I’m also sick I decided not to bother.

Planning a wedding. Dy and I aren't married yet, and we don't really have a wedding date set. I'm trying to figure out the kind of wedding we're looking for so we can figure out a budget and set a date. So far I have a dress (I bought it pre-baby, so hopefully it still fits. I didn't gain a significant amount of weight, but you never know if it redistributed or not) and I'm thinking probably June 2013.

Also insomnia, which is why this post is coming to you at 5:41am and is largely consistant of a list. More to come later, when I've slept and woken up again.

Sunday, October 16, 2011

Today, I did not have a project of the day. Instead I decided to practice being a responsible adult and I worked on a lot of boring projects. The project I wanted to do today was go to the craft store and get supplies to make some adorable newborn headbands/accessories for Wiggle’s newborn pictures. She’ll be here any day now, and according to my friend Shallyse at Shadeleaf Studios the best time to take newborn photos is in the first 10 days. I figured I was sort of crafty, so I might be able to make something similar to the awesome (but expensive) accessories on Etsy. I’m a little nervous to go out by myself however as the baby could show up at any time. I really don’t want to be across town when labor starts and have to fight my way back through the endless construction traffic. Unfortunately both people I would normally take to the craft store were unavailable, and Dylan does not go to the craft store. Period. I couldn’t even get him to go with me to pick out fabric for something I was making for him.I figured I could settle for going to Wal-mart where I could get some cheap ribbon to play around with, and buy more yarn for crochet projects. I planned to look for some adjustable shelving units as well, but Dylan didn’t want to go anywhere. He wanted to stay home to enjoy his ‘last lazy Saturday ever’. I told him there would be other lazy Saturdays, they just might require a babysitter but he remained unconvinced. So instead of doing anything fun, I did things that responsible adults do. I finally folded and hung up the laundry I washed and dried two weeks ago. I went through my wallet and checked the balances of all of the random gift cards. I checked the budget for the rest of the month and moved money from checking to savings so it wouldn’t get spent accidentally. And somehow even though I was doing all of these things, I was still incredibly bored. So I gathered up all the dirty laundry that was lying about, and pulled out some more of Wiggle’s things that needed to be washed intending to keep being productive. (Now she’ll have bedsheets to sleep on in her Pack N Play!) By this point I had exhausted myself a little, so I didn’t actually go and start the laundry. I just laid down on the bed and tried to cool off. (It’s not even really very hot, but I still miss air conditioning. A lot.)About a minute after I laid down, right when I was thinking about maybe sleeping for a bit, Dylan woke up from his ‘last lazy Saturday’ nap and decided that he probably needed to go to the store because eventually we were going to want to eat dinner. Unfortunately, he did not choose to go to a store that sells crafty things. We went to Sams Club. Sams Club on a Saturday afternoon is not a good idea. It’s an especially bad idea to go to Sams Club intending to get something from the pharmacy right before the pharmacy closes. Apparently everyone else in the city decided that 5:20 was a great time to go pick up their medicine from the Sams Club too. We waited for at least 20-30 minutes to get generic allergy medicine with decongestant, but unfortunately we were out of allergy medicine and Dy really needed more allergy medicine so we had to wait. Afterward we wandered around the store for a while trying to figure out what was going to be for dinner. The upside of this endless pharmacy line is that it gave me time to remember that I had decided I wanted to buy egg rolls the next time I was at Sams Club. (Yay egg rolls!) They’re so delicious, but the egg rolls were determined to be unsuitable as dinner. Dylan had apparently secretly decided that Guinness stew was going to be for dinner, but he hadn’t realized it yet, so we were wandering. While we were wandering I also remembered that Dylan had told me a few weeks ago when we bought him some new shirts that the next time we went to Sams Club he would look for pants. I think he expected me to forget and just said it to get me to stop bothering him about buying pants when we bought him new shirts because he was rather put out when I brought it up. However we did manage to find him a new pair of jeans, and a pair of dress pants. He volunteered to get the dress pants as well, which was good because we already had them in the cart headed to the checkout when I reminded him that I had wanted to get him dress pants so we could take family photos when the baby arrives. (Dylan hates having his picture taken.)We spent more than I had really wanted to spend, but we got him two new pairs of pants and he needed more pants. I expect the laundry to get pushed farther down the priority list after the baby gets here. It wasn’t exactly the entertaining shopping trip I had wanted for my day, but I was a productive responsible adult and I got to leave the house. OH! and the best part of the day, that made up for the shopping trip being kinda dull, Princess and the Pea Boutique was having a Facebook auction, and I got some really cute accessories for Wiggle’s newborn photos for around $15. These are the things I got:

Adorable Lil' Mini Witch Hat

This Orange fabric flower on a headband with a clip.

Adorable orange/black striped leg warmers.

Princess and the Pea Boutique also has a bunch more cute stuff at her Etsy store, and I probably would have gotten more from the auction but they ended a bit later than they were supposed to, and so I was outbid a few times. I guess that’s what I get for leaving the house before the auctions were officially ended. I’m thinking I’ll pair the little witch hat with a black tutu, and the orange flower headband/clip with the leg warmers. Maybe the black tutu will go with the orange outfit too. Hopefully her dark faery costume to be completed soon, but I will need to make a headband to go with the tutu in case the wings don’t work for photos.

So Wiggle will have the three outfits to be photographed in, and then the baby net cocoon if it gets finished. (I’m planning to take it apart and start over. I decided I didn’t like how it was shaped.) I’m also working on a very basic off white blanket for her that needs to be finished. I’ll post a picture of the blanket later.

Friday, October 14, 2011

Today’s random project of the day is extra random, because I’m just winging it. See I was all set to make a hat for Wiggle, alternating in pink and off white. I got approximately this far,

Color alternating baby beanie hat.

before I realized that if I wanted the hat to fit her for newborn photos, I should probably wait until she’s here and finish it then. I don’t want to make it too big or too small. So I’ve shelved that project for now. The pattern however, can be found here. There is also a YouTube video available for this pattern.

In the meantime, I thought about working on the dark faery costume for Wiggle’s first Halloween, but that’s something I don’t want to be in the middle of when labor starts. Instead, I was wasting time on Facebook where I came across this adorable photograph that was taken by my friend the awesome and talented Shallyse at Shadeleaf Studios. (Photo to be added later once permission is obtained.) I loved this baby net cocoon, and since the person who made it didn’t have any available in her etsy store (though she has a lot of cute things here), I thought I’d try to figure out how to make one on my own.

Ultimately I decided that this one wasn’t working out and I had started it way too big, so I pulled it apart and started over.

Round 1: CH 1, 10 SC in your magic circle or chain. Join.

Round 2: CH 1, 2 SC in each ST around (20 SC total) Join.

Round 3: CH 3, DC in each ST around. (20 DC total) Join.

Round 4: CH 3, 2 DC in each ST around. (40 DC total). Join.

Round 5: CH 3, DC in each ST around. (40 DC total)

And that’s about as far as I got before I decided I didn’t like where it was going now either. It looked like this:

Second attempt to make a baby net cocoon without a pattern.

So I tore it apart and tried again.

Round 1: CH 1, 6 SC in your magic circle or chain.

Round 2: CH 3, DC in each ST around. (6 DC total) Join.

Round 3: CH 3, 2 DC in each ST around (12 DC total) Join.

Round 4: CH 3, *1 DC in each of the next 2 ST's, 2 DC in the next St, repeat from *, you will be increase every 3 stitches. (27 DC total) Join.
Round 5: CH 3, DC in each ST. (27 DC total) Join.
Round 6: CH 4, TC in each ST. (27 TC total) Join.

At this point I decided this looked more like a baby hat than a cocoon. And I honestly wasn’t sure if it was big enough at the bottom to continue trying to make a cocoon, or if it was big enough to become a hat either.

Pictured next to my scissors to show scale.

Photographed close up to show stitch detailing.

So while I debate making it a real hat, or taking it apart, I thought I'd post this to show you what I've been up to today. Let me know what you think.

All of these have been worked using a size K crochet hook using two strands of yarn: Bernat Baby Coordinates in sherbet and Caron Simply Soft in off white.

Thursday, October 13, 2011

I have a habit of starting new projects at random. Many of these projects are things that never actually get finished. Yesterday's random project of the day was baby mittens. I only finished one of the mittens yesterday, but I managed to make another one today. No, I'm not entirely sure why I was working on baby mittens with all the other half-finished projects lying around, but at least I finished the baby mittens.

This is the mitten I made yesterday:

Mitten made 10/12/2011

Honestly I think it went well until I got to the part where you were supposed to make the ribbing, and then it all went to hell.

This is the mitten I made today:

Mitten created 10/13/2011

Honestly I don't think the ribbing went any better on the second mitten, but I think it's just the way the stitch works. Here are the two mittens side by side:

Yesterday's mitten (left), Today's mitten (right)

I also intend to try and be fancy and make a mitten with 2 colors instead of just this cream, so we'll see how well that works out. It looks like it would be cool in theory, but once again there's that ribbing that I'm not entirely sure about.

I'm also not entirely sure how well these mittens are going to stay on, so I was thinking of trying another stitch along the bottom instead of the ribbing and adding some elastic to keep them on. I thought about ribbon, but I'm not sure if I entirely like that idea.

The tutorial I used for these baby mittens can be found here, and were made using Caron Simply Soft yarn in off white with a G crochet hook.

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About Me

Aspiring writer, and fledgling seamstress, a new parent alongside my fiancé Dy(also pictured) in October. I am working on a variety of projects at the moment, including an infant steampunk costume for the new baby girl, a steampunk military menswear coat for Dy, and I have a few costume ideas floating around for myself as well.